creative directorshttp://www.adweek.com/taxonomy/term/14412/all
enWomen Are Now Winning 11% of Creative Director Awards, Up From 4% in 2004http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/share-female-creative-leaders-winning-awards-rises-ad-annual-160043
Noreen O'Leary<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/fea-essay-susan-credle-hed-2013.jpg"> <p>
The profile of women in agency creative departments appears to have grown, based on the results of the 2013 Communication Arts <a href="http://www.commarts.com/annuals/2013-Advertising" target="_blank">Advertising Annual</a>. Female creative directors accounted for more than 11 percent of all award winners compared to less than 4 percent in 2004.</p>
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Kat Gordon, founder of the industry female empowerment event, the 3% Conference, looked at the CA credits, nine years after University of Texas graduate student Kasey Windels conducted her own dissertation survey of CA Advertising Annual winners and found that only 3.6 percent were women. Of the 2004 total, 11.6 percent were copywriters and 9.6 percent were art directors.</p>
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The recent uptick to 11.5 percent of creative director winners being women could mean that more women are now entering their work in CA&rsquo;s annual competition, according to the 3% Conference. Also, there may be greater awareness of how women influence the consumer marketplace, making judges more likely to award work with a female sensibility.</p>
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Three women served as judges for CA&#39;s latest Advertising Annual, out of a total of nine&mdash;the same proportion as in 2004. The publication received 4,356 entries.</p>
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While the CA winners are an industry indicator, the 3% Conference said that the ad business needs a better benchmark because the annual awards issue may not include the contributions of freelance female creative directors, in-house CDs, digital CDs, design directors, experience design directors, creative technologists, PR CDs and motion graphics CDs. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics does not measure &quot;creative director&quot; as a job title, so there&#39;s no official yardstick to measure gender breakout.</p>
Advertising & Branding3% Conferenceadvertising annualAgencyaward winnersCommunication ArtsNoreen O'LearyKat GordonpercentageWomenWed, 10 Sep 2014 19:14:43 +0000160043 at http://www.adweek.comNicholson Builds Team at McKinney in N.Y.http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/nicholson-builds-team-mckinney-ny-148598
Andrew McMains<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/benjamin-cabral-leicht-hed-2013.jpg"> <p>
In Jonny Leicht and Jake Benjamin, McKinney&rsquo;s New York ecd Peter Nicholson thinks he has found some trusted lieutenants.</p>
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Leicht and Benjamin are the first creative directors hired by Nicholson, who joined McKinney in January when the Durham, N.C.-based shop entered the market via <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/cheil-worldwide-buys-mckinney-142330 " target="_blank">parent company Cheil Worldwide</a>. Cheil&rsquo;s namesake agency already had a presence in New York and joined forces with its southeastern brother to create McKinney in New York.</p>
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<img alt="" class="imagecache-news-article-image" src="/files/imagecache/news-article-image/news_article/benjamin-cabral-leicht-hed-2013.jpg" />
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Jake Benjamin, Melissa Cabral and Jonny Leicht<span class="meta-credit"> Photo: Ric Kallaher</span></p>
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The combined operation has a staff of about 25 and is a key player on Samsung&rsquo;s creative roster. Other leaders include managing director Alex Van Gestel and head of strategic services Yusuf Chuku.</p>
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As a small player in the Big Apple, Nicholson needs cds who are as comfortable managing staffers as creating work&mdash;player-coaches, if you will. Nicholson is confident that both Leicht, 32, and Benjamin, 38, can thrive in that hybrid role.</p>
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Beyond their versatility, Nicholson cited the pedigree of the shops that his new hires have worked at in the past.</p>
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Leicht&rsquo;s resum&eacute; includes stops at Wieden + Kennedy, Anomaly, Goodby, Silverstein &amp; Partners and R/GA, handling brands such as Converse, Hewlett-Packard, Comcast, Nike and Barnes &amp; Noble. Most recently, he freelanced for the likes of Google Creative Lab, 72andSunny and Deutsch.</p>
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Benjamin also worked as a freelancer&mdash;at Crispin Porter + Bogusky and Droga5, among other shops&mdash;before joining McKinney. Earlier in his career, he held creative roles at Saatchi &amp; Saatchi, Goodby and Lowe. His brand experience ranges from Tide to Hyundai.</p>
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&ldquo;I love the journey each has experienced in the industry,&rdquo; Nicholson said.</p>
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The new cds arrive just as Chuku expands his planning ranks. Melissa Cabral, 29, a former senior strategic planner at The Martin Agency, has become a senior account planner at McKinney.</p>
Advertising & BrandingCheil Worldwidecreative directorsJake BenjaminJonny LeichtMckinneyAndrew McMainsNew York officePeter NicholsonYusuf ChukuMon, 15 Apr 2013 19:32:41 +0000148598 at http://www.adweek.com